The Ins & Outs of Travel Insurance

This travel journal is part of our TravelStore Passport Diaries Podcast. Watch the full episode below, and for more episodes, visit our Passport Diaries Podcast page or follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: The world is a busy, complicated place these days with lots of variables, moving pieces, and new developments daily that may or may not affect your travel plans.

Perhaps you have spent months working with your travel advisor on crafting the perfect 2-week, multi-country trip with your family that, at the end of the day, includes thousands of dollars of travel experiences. If something were to get in the way of completing your trip, what is the best way to protect your vacation investment?

On this episode of our Passport Diaries podcast, we are joined by three travel insurance experts that will help you understand how travel insurance comes into play when getting ready for your dream trip. Luxury Travel Advisor Heidi Hoehn has been working in the travel industry for over 30 years and elps her travelers choose the best insurance plan for their high-value trips. Chris Siravo and Ashley Puniello join us directly from the source: Travel Insured International, a leading third-party travel insurance company and one of TravelStore’s hand-picked preferred insurance providers. Together, the three travel insurance pros help us answer some of the most commonly asked questions about travel insurance.

What is travel insurance and why would you need it?

Chris Siravo of Travel Insured International believes many people have a misconception about what travel insurance actually is, especially in the modern day. “A lot of travelers are under the impression that it’s strictly for trip cancellation coverage – But it’s so much more than that” says Chris. To help travelers get a clearer picture of what travel insurance is, he breaks it up into 3 parts:

1. Part A: Pre-Departure Travel Protection. This is the most commonly understood part of travel insurance that includes trip cancellation. This kicks in if a covered reason prevents you from actually leaving to go on your trip.
2. Part B: Post-Departure Benefits. This is the coverage that helps you out while you are already on your trip. It includes things like travel delay, trip interruption, medical coverage, baggage loss or delay, etc.
3. Part C: Non-Insurance Assistance. Travelers can utilize special services, like Travel Insured’s partnership with Robin Assist, to help with immediate in-destination support requests for any reason.

Chris shares that most people don’t even know about the Part C Non-Insurance Assistance services. He highlights one example he heard recently where a travel advisor called Robin Assist to help them secure a dinner reservation for their travelers at the Jules Verne Eiffel Tower restaurant in Paris – and they did! “If plans change last minute and you’re in destination,” says Chris, “there are opportunities where Robin Assist can step in as a concierge.”

When it comes to why travelers would need travel insurance coverage, Chris puts it like this: “It’s not about expecting something to go wrong, it’s more so about being prepared. Trips today are far more expensive than they’ve ever been. So really, it truly safeguards thousands of dollars that you’re investing. And, it’s really that unpredictability factor as well, whether it’s weather, illness, delays, global events…those things that are outside of one’s control.”

Heidi Hoehn adds what she shares with all her travelers about why they should always have a coverage plan: “I have said for years that I want travel insurance to be a huge waste of money because I don’t want the traveler to ever, ever need to use it.” She says, “But, the one time you use it, it’s going to be the best money you ever spent.”

“I want travel insurance to be a huge waste of money because I don’t want the traveler to ever, ever need to use it. But, the one time you use it, it’s going to be the best money you ever spent.” – Heidi Hoehn, TravelStore

How does travel insurance come into play in 2026?

When asked about where we are in the world today, both Chris and Ashley believe an a la carte approach to travel insurance makes all the difference.

“There are a lot of things to consider in 2026” says Ashley, “Travel is changing so much in today’s world. That’s why we believe our insurance policies should be an a la carte plan, because not all trips are the same; you may be taking that hot air balloon, or you may be taking that safari. I think one of the most unique benefits that we personally offer is Cancel for Any Reason.”

Cancel For Any Reason, aka CFAR, is a hot topic buzzing around the travel insurance space. Ashley shares that during times of uncertainty, it becomes very popular and a very useful option for travelers wondering whether their dream trip will be everything they hope it will be.

“It’s truly cancellation for any reason,” she continues “So, it can be something as serious as, ‘I have a fear of traveling. I’m uncomfortable going to this destination that sounded so incredible two years ago.’ Or, it can be something as simple as, ‘Oh, I went to the hairdresser and I requested an ashy blonde, and I walked out with purple hair, and now I’m not going on my trip.’ So cancel for any reason is, I think, the thing that fits the best with the turmoil in the world that can really put our clients at ease with travel.”

“Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) is, I think, the thing that fits the best with the turmoil in the world that can really put our clients at ease with travel.” – Ashley Puniello, Travel Insured International

How does your TravelStore advisor help you choose the right coverage plan?

Heidi Hoehn shares that the partnership between herself and her travelers means she can tailor her recommendations to their exact needs. “When we know our clients, we know that they could have elderly family members, could have kids in school… the more I know about the clients, the travelers, and their lives, the better I can advise them on activities and where best they’d like to stay and what best they can do, but also how to prepare them for these kind of problems.”

For some issues, Heidi highlights the benefit of having an insurance company as a resource because they deal with issues every single day and may be the quickest option to finding a solution.

“If I have a client lose a passport, I might call the insurance company on their behalf and say, ‘Hey, it’s been years since I’ve dealt with a lost passport. What steps do these clients need to do?’ because they do it a lot more often. They’re dealing with many more in-country problems. You may need an English-speaking physician, [or] you need a pharmacist that you can consult with because they may not have your exact drug available when you need that prescription refill. Those are the kind of things that the assistance desk is really good at, does day in, day out, is available 24 -7, etc. So I’ll take care of you until you leave and take care of you as I can while you’re traveling, but these people are going to be a lot faster.”

Listen to our full Passport Diaries episode to hear some great real-life stories of when travel insurance came to the rescue, tips and inside looks, and more!